Court upholds teenager’s murder conviction

The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of teenager Antonio Tarrosa, who complained he was coerced into confessing because he was chained to a pole for three hours by Las Vegas police and his parents were never notified of his arrest.

The court said there was no evidence of Tarrosa being chained to a pole. At the time of the October 2009 killing, he was within 10 days of his 18th birthday.

The court said in prior rulings that minors charged with murder are not entitled to having parents notified. In this case, Tarrosa, one minute after being read his rights, voluntarily confessed.

"Even though Tarrosa was technically a minor, he was not a naïve child, but rather a mature young adult with plenty of exposure to the realities of adult life," the court said.

Tarrosa and some of his friends tried to rob Dominic "Dom" Evans, 19, and his girlfriend Lindsey Subin. He pointed a gun at the couple and ordered them to lie down. Evans emptied his pockets and Tarrosa pistol-whipped him.

Subin ran and said she heard a shot. Evans was shot in the buttock, causing a rapid loss of blood, and he bled to death on the street.

Tarrosa told police he shot Evans because the girl ran away.

Tarrosa received a 20-year to life sentence on the murder count plus some consecutive sentences on the robbery conviction.